Highland Council doing its bit to tackle air pollution on Clean Air Day, 17 June 2021
Today (17 June 2021), Clean Air Day Scotland will see schools, hospitals, workplaces and communities across Highland run events to inspire people to take simple steps to protect their health, and their families’ health, from air pollution.
This Clean Air Day Scotland Highland Council is pledging to work to reduce air pollution and show how much we care about building a clean air future for our children.
The Council is supporting Clean Air Day through engaging educational activities in a number of schools across Highland, where youngsters learn about the importance of clean air and what they can do to help.
As we return to our lives, it is important to take this opportunity to create healthy environment for our children where they can learn and play safely. We have a once in a lifetime chance for change, let’s use it.
Our story of improving air quality includes a number of initiatives including:
- Green Impact has actions which encourage HC staff to swap car journeys for active transport (https://www.highland.gov.uk/info/1210/environment/964/green_impact_programme)
- Expansion of electric car charging points encourages a move away from petrol and diesel vehicles (https://www.highland.gov.uk/info/20005/roads_and_pavements/99/roads_information/6)
- We encourage active transport by developing cycling and walking routes around Highland (https://www.highland.gov.uk/info/1523/transport_and_streets/121/local_transport_planning)
Air pollution affects your health from your first breath to your last, as the damage to our health can start when we’re a baby and carry on through into old age.
But poor air quality is not a fact of life. Our air pollution crisis is solvable and there are simple steps we can all take to help our family avoid toxic air and cut down on the pollution we emit – it's good for us and good for the planet too.
Chair of Highland Council’s Climate Change Committee, Cllr Trish Robertson, said: “We are proud to be supporting Clean Air Day, which promotes action on air pollution and for people speak out to show how much we care about building a clean air future for our children.
“Schools across the country are learning about the health benefits cycling, walking and the benefits this has on air quality, in our towns and rural areas. We’ve got an opportunity after lockdown, which saw dramatic reductions in car use, to build a healthier, less polluting Highland.”
The Scottish Government is finalising its new Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy, which will be published later this year. It aims to build on the strengths of the original strategy, published in 2015, and make Scotland’s air quality the best in Europe.
Click here to find out more about Clean Air Day Scotland https://www.cleanairday.org.uk/scotland
